France's energy regulator recommends a reduction in renewable electricity production

Emmanuelle Wargon, head of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), wants to ease up on the development of renewable energy . The former minister said on Wednesday that the pace of development may need to be "adjusted" downward. The reason is the "discrepancy" between electricity demand and production.

Emmanuelle Wargon warns against the potentially overly rapid development of new production capacity. While efforts should not be relaxed on nuclear and hydropower, it would be reasonable to slow down the pace of solar and wind power, she believes.

This sudden caution comes because at the beginning of the year, the CRE warned against "a delay in the development of renewable production which would result, due to the increase in consumption expected in the coming years, in an increase in electricity prices."

But the major Spanish and Portuguese blackouts also happened. This was partly due to the massive influx of renewable electricity into the grid due to favorable weather conditions. This unexpected arrival generated significant fluctuations in electrical power flows, which caused the grid to collapse like a house of cards.

When renewable energies that are difficult to control take up a very significant place (40% of electricity production in Spain), this weakens the network.

France's energy roadmap for 2025-2035 anticipates this slowdown in renewable energy. It sets a path to ensure energy security and price control, and to reduce its dependence on imported gas and oil. Specifically, this involves reducing the share of fossil fuels in France's final energy consumption from approximately 60% in 2023 to 42% in 2030, and then to 30% in 2035.